Oh my - bless your dear wife, she obviously went through a horrific time.
The orthopod said nothing about screws, just the plate - but he was basing his diagnosis on the Xrays from last Friday night when it happened, I've fallen more than once since then because I can't get the hang of the crutches and who knows how much more damage I've done. He told me he would be putting a cast on it after the stitches come out, in about 3 weeks.
We live out in the boonies, so not being able to drive is a MAJOR problem for me.
Definitely looking for Emily to give Texas much needed rain - but none of the other stuff associated with these danged storms.
Not knowing your exact injury I may be completely off but the screws are what hold my wife's plate to the leg bone. Even gave her a letter with a pic of the xray of the area for snoopy TSArs :-)
She also had an aircast, not a hard cast. Easier to deal with and to clean the leg - especially in the summer.
Make sure you get a prescription for a wheelchair. Stay off the leg with those darn crutches.
Good luck! You seem to be doing quite well. My wife was literally drugged-up the day and a half before her surgery. She couldn't stay awake longer than an hour without crying.